Weisberg Show Looks Back at an Artist Ahead of Her Time

Veteran L.A. artist Ruth Weisberg was a Postmodernist before the term was coined. At the moment, the University of Judaism’s Platt Gallery is presenting a sampling of some 20 of her large lithographs under the title “Drawing on a Life: Graphic Work by Ruth Weisberg.”

The earliest pieces are from the ‘70s. Back then, she looked a little old-fashioned. Now, she appears as a keeper of the flame for traditional figurative art, while informed by Expressionism, Surrealism and the temper of our times. Some of her subject matter touches directly on the Jewish experience. Considering how tragic it’s been in this century, Weisberg’s style seems surprisingly calm and detached.

One of her most haunting recurrent images is of a nude woman floating serenely under water. Sometimes she assumes a fetal position. That suggests that the pleasure we take in bobbing around in the pool may be akin to the utter sense of security some say we all experienced before birth in mom’s amniotic universe.

In a way, all of Weisberg’s art represents a longing to return to that primal state. It suggests a full range of human feeling, but one always tempered by a classic sense of balance. She probably admires Rembrandt, Degas and Velazquez. There’s a neutrality about her manner of work that’s slightly reminiscent of Veronese. It might strike some as boring, but her even-tempered approach allows her to deal with emotionally charged subject matter in a way that avoids bathos.

A variation on “Las Meninas” is called “Disparity Among the Children II.” It depicts a naked child fleeing the scene while a squatting figure in modern dress watches, smiling approvingly. Somehow, one is sure both figures are Weisberg. Velazquez’s famous painting is about nothing if not strictures that bind us to the social illusions that dictate our lives. Weisberg’s version is a fantasy of escape into a more idyllic, unfettered life. The image is dramatic, but the thoughtful presentation replaces potential hysteria with the seriousness of an existential decision.

Certain themes reappear. Among them are dreamlike groups of young girls that seem remembered from a European past. “A Game” depicts a group of friends standing in a circle engrossed in some favorite pastime. The ground is uneven and muddy. Behind them rises a rough wooden fence. An ominous suggestion of ghetto or concentration camp hovers, but the girls seem happy. “Neverland” is an especially effective pattern of dark and light sculpting a group of smiling boys and girls. They appear to be of every race and social background, but they stand in harmony, as if posing for the artist. Both works are certainly about enjoying precious moments and maintaining hope, but there is nothing sappy about them.

Like Mary Cassatt, Weisberg can do mother and child scenes without seeming sentimental. The best one here is “First Child,” a juicy close-up of both figures nude, centering on the infant in mom’s lap. The artist also gets away with feminist themes without appearing hostile. “La Commedia E Finita” uses a dramatic shift in scale to show a small woman about to draw the curtain on a group of giant male heads. In “Passage,” a woman clad only in a cloth wrapping steps out of what looks like a life-size painting of a scene from the Great Depression. It seems less a social statement than a gesture of liberation from a depression of the personal kind.

The exhibition, organized by the university’s Fine Arts Council, comes with a slender catalog including an essay by critic Peter Frank. Curators were Victor Raphael and James H. Jacobson.

* University of Judaism, Platt Gallery, 15600 Mulholland Drive, through May 25. Closed Friday and Saturday, (310) 476-9777.